Vehicle dispatch system, vehicle dispatch server, and vehicle dispatch method

ABSTRACT

A vehicle dispatch system for dispatching an autonomous driving vehicle capable of traveling with remote assistance by a remote operator. The vehicle dispatch system comprising: a required time prediction unit for predicting the required time until the autonomous driving vehicle arrives at a point of dispatch by a route, a remote assistance request number calculation unit for calculating the remote assistance request number on a route, and a vehicle dispatch determination unit for determining the vehicle dispatch route to the point of dispatch where the autonomous driving vehicle travels based on the required time for each route and the remote assistance request number for each route, when the route search unit searched for a plurality of the routes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority from Japanese PatentApplication No. 2020-153081, filed Sep. 11, 2020, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle dispatch system, a vehicledispatch server, and vehicle dispatch method.

BACKGROUND

In the related art, International Publication No. 2019-220205 is knownas technical literature relating to a vehicle dispatch system.International Publication No. 2019-220205 discloses a vehicle dispatchsystem for dispatching the autonomous driving vehicle in response to arequest from a user. The vehicle dispatch system calculates a vehicledispatch position candidate in the vicinity of the user's request point,and a vehicle is set for each of the vehicle dispatch positioncandidates. The vehicle dispatch system determines the dispatch vehicleand the vehicle dispatch position based on the total trip time for eachof the vehicle dispatch position candidates.

SUMMARY

Incidentally, when it becomes desirable to reflect the judgment by thehuman during the running of the autonomous driving vehicle, theautonomous driving vehicle is considered to continue the running byreceiving the remote instruction by the remote operator (human). In thiscase, it is desirable that the route and the like are determined inconsideration of not only the time required to reach the point ofdispatch but also the presence of the remote operator.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle dispatchsystem for dispatch autonomous driving vehicles capable of travelingwith remote assistance by a remote operator. The vehicle dispatch systemincludes a route search unit configured to search a route to a point ofdispatch based on a predetermined point of dispatch, the position of theautonomous driving vehicle, and map information; a required timeprediction unit configured to predict a required time until theautonomous driving vehicle arrives at the point of dispatch by the routebased on the map information; a remote assistance request numbercalculation unit configured to calculate remote assistance requestnumber on the route, which is the number of the remote assistancerequest that the autonomous driving vehicle requests the remote operatorfor the remote assistance, based on the route and a predetermined remoteassistance request condition; a vehicle dispatch determination unitconfigured to determine a vehicle dispatch route to the point ofdispatch where the autonomous driving vehicle travels, based on therequired time for each route and the remote assistance request numberfor each route, when the route search unit searched for a plurality ofthe routes.

According to the vehicle dispatch system according to one aspect of thepresent disclosure, it is calculated the remote assistance requestnumber which is the number of the remote assistance requests by theautonomous driving vehicle to the remote operator for each route to thepoint of dispatch, and the vehicle dispatch route to the point ofdispatch where the autonomous driving vehicle travels is determined onthe basis of the required time for each route and the remote assistancerequest number for each route. Therefore, the load of the remoteoperator can be reduced compared with when the remote assistance requestnumber is not considered.

The vehicle dispatch system according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure may further include a dispatched candidate vehicle selectionunit configured to select dispatched candidate vehicle for the point ofdispatch from a plurality of the autonomous driving vehicles based onthe point of dispatch and the positions of the autonomous drivingvehicles, wherein the vehicle dispatch determination unit determines thedispatch vehicle to be dispatched to the point of dispatch and thedispatch vehicle route of the dispatch vehicle based on the requiredtime and the remote assistance request number in the routes to the pointof dispatch searched for each of the dispatched candidate vehicles whenthere is a plurality of the dispatched candidate vehicles selected bythe dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit.

In the vehicle dispatch system according to one aspect of the presentdisclosure, the vehicle dispatch determination unit may determinewhether or not the section up to the route branch point is common to allthe routes of the autonomous driving vehicle when there are a pluralityof the routes searched by the route search unit, and postpone thedetermination of the vehicle dispatch route until a route branch pointis reached by the autonomous driving vehicle when it is determined thatthe section up to the route branch point is common to all the routes.

In the vehicle dispatch system according to one aspect of the presentdisclosure, the required time prediction unit may acquire the trajectoryof autonomous driving including a path on the route and a vehicle speedplan, and predict a required time until the autonomous driving vehiclearrives at the point of dispatch based on the trajectory, wherein thepath and the vehicle speed plan are generated in accordance with thepoint of dispatch, the route, the map information, the externalenvironment of the autonomous driving vehicle, and the traveling stateof the autonomous driving vehicle.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicledispatching server for dispatching the autonomous driving vehiclescapable of traveling with remote assistance by a remote operator. Thevehicle dispatching server includes a route search unit configured tosearch a route to a point of dispatch based on a predetermined point ofdispatch, the position of the autonomous driving vehicle, and mapinformation; a required time prediction unit configured to predict arequired time until the autonomous driving vehicle arrives at the pointof dispatch by the route based on the map information; a remoteassistance request number calculation unit configured to calculateremote assistance request number on the route, which is the number ofthe remote assistance request that the autonomous driving vehiclerequests the remote operator for the remote assistance, based on theroute and a predetermined remote assistance request condition; a vehicledispatch determination unit configured to determine a vehicle dispatchroute to the point of dispatch where the autonomous driving vehicletravels, based on the required time for each route and the remoteassistance request number for each route, when the route search unitsearched for a plurality of the routes.

According to the vehicle dispatch server according to another aspect ofthe present disclosure, it is calculated the remote assistance requestnumber which is the number of the remote assistance requests by theautonomous driving vehicle to the remote operator for each route to thepoint of dispatch, and the vehicle dispatch route to the point ofdispatch where the autonomous driving vehicle travels is determined onthe basis of the required time for each route and the remote assistancerequest number for each route. Therefore, the load of the remoteoperator can be reduced compared with when the remote assistance requestnumber is not considered.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is vehicle dispatch method of avehicle dispatch system for dispatching autonomous driving vehiclecapable of traveling with remote assistance by a remote operator. Themethod includes searching a route to a point of dispatch based on apredetermined point of dispatch, the position of the autonomous drivingvehicle, and map information, predicting a required time until theautonomous driving vehicle arrives at the point of dispatch by the routebased on the map information, calculate remote assistance request numberon the route, which is the number of the remote assistance request thatthe autonomous driving vehicle requests the remote operator for theremote assistance, based on the route and a predetermined remoteassistance request condition, determining a vehicle dispatch route tothe point of dispatch where the autonomous driving vehicle travels,based on the required time for each route and the remote assistancerequest number for each route, when a plurality of the routes searched.

According to the vehicle dispatch method according to another aspect ofthe present disclosure, it is calculated the remote assistance requestnumber which is the number of the remote assistance requests by theautonomous driving vehicle to the remote operator for each route to thepoint of dispatch, and the vehicle dispatch route to the point ofdispatch where the autonomous driving vehicle travels is determined onthe basis of the required time for each route and the remote assistancerequest number for each route. Therefore, the load of the remoteoperator can be reduced compared with when the remote assistance requestnumber is not considered.

According to the vehicle dispatch system according to one aspect of thepresent disclosure, the vehicle dispatch server according to anotheraspect of the present disclosure, and the vehicle dispatch methodaccording to another aspect of the present disclosure, the load on theremote operator can be reduced by determining the vehicle dispatch routebased on the remote assistance request number.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a vehicle dispatch system accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating for explaining remote assistance to anautonomous driving vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configurationof autonomous driving vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardwareconfiguration of the vehicle dispatch server.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functionalconfiguration of the vehicle dispatch server.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation where aplurality of the routes of the dispatched candidate vehicle exist.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating for explaining the postponement ofdetermination of vehicle dispatch route to the route branch point.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation where aplurality of the dispatched candidate vehicles exists.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatchroute determination process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of vehicle dispatchdetermination process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a postponementprocess.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, an example of the present disclosure will be described withreference to accompanying drawings.

The vehicle dispatch system according to this embodiment is a system fordispatching an autonomous driving vehicle in response to a vehicledispatch request from a user. The vehicle dispatch request includes aride request for use of the autonomous driving vehicle as a taxi or apickup request for use of the autonomous driving vehicle as delivery.

Configuration of Vehicle dispatch System

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the vehicle dispatch system 1 includes thevehicle dispatch server 10. Details of the configuration of the vehicledispatch server 10 will be described later. In addition to the vehicledispatch server 10, the vehicle dispatch system 1 may include theautonomous driving vehicle 2 or a part of the autonomous driving vehicle2.

The vehicle dispatch server 10 may be capable of communicating with theuser terminal 50 and sets a point of dispatch P in response to adispatch request from the user terminal 50. The vehicle dispatch server10 may be is a server installed in a facility. The vehicle dispatchserver 10 may be mounted on a moving object such as a vehicle or may beformed on a cloud. The user terminal 50 is a user's portable informationterminal. The user terminal 50 may be constituted by a computerincluding a processor such as a central processing unit [CPU], a memorysuch as a read only memory [ROM], a random-access memory [RAM], acommunication device, and an interface including a display and/or atouch panel.

The vehicle dispatch server 10 grasps the status of the autonomousdriving vehicles 2A, 2B, 2C, by a wireless communication network N. Thevehicle dispatch server 10 dispatches at least one of the autonomousdriving vehicles to the point of dispatch P. The vehicle dispatch server10 may manage by assigning a unique identification number to eachautonomous driving vehicles. The wireless communication network N mayinclude an internet line or a line for a portable information terminal,and is not particularly limited as long as it can perform wirelesscommunication. Details of the point of dispatch P will be describedlater.

The vehicle dispatch server 10 may dispatch the autonomous drivingvehicles (remote assistance vehicles) that perform an autonomous drivingalong with remote assistance by a remote operator. A remote operator isa person providing remote assistance to the autonomous driving vehicle.The remote assistance is an instruction regarding the travel of theautonomous driving vehicle from the remote operator. The remoteassistance includes instructions to progress the autonomous drivingvehicle and to stop the autonomous driving vehicle. The remoteassistance may include the autonomous driving vehicle lane changeindication. The remote assistance may also include an instruction to theautonomous driving vehicle regarding the entry and exit of the occupant(for example, an instruction to automatically open and close the door oran instruction to start the voice guidance of the exit). It can bereferenced Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-146571 for details onremote assistance and remote servers.

The above described remote assistance is an example, and the remoteassistance is not limited to an instruction to proceed or stop. Theremote assistance may include remote manipulation of the autonomousdriving vehicle by the remote operator R. In the remote control, forexample, the accelerator operation of the remote operator R is reflectedin the acceleration of the autonomous driving vehicle. Remote assistancemay not include remote manipulation of the autonomous driving vehicle bythe remote operator R.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the remote assistance to theautonomous driving vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the vehicledispatch server 10 may also functions as a remote assistance server fortransmitting the remote assistance of the remote operator R to theautonomous driving vehicle 2. The remote operator R transmits the remoteassistance to the autonomous driving vehicle 2 as the remote assistanceobject by transmitting the remote assistance to the vehicle dispatchserver 10 through the operator interface 3. The number of remoteoperators R may be one or more. At the vehicle dispatch server 10,remote assistance may be input to the remote operator R in response to aremote assistance request from the autonomous driving vehicle 2. Theremote assistance server may be a server separate from the vehicledispatch server 10.

Configuration of Autonomous Driving Vehicle

First, an example of the configuration of the autonomous driving vehicle2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exampleof the configuration of autonomous driving vehicle 2. As illustrated inFIG. 3 , the autonomous driving vehicle 2 may include an autonomousdriving electronic control unit [autonomous driving ECU] 20. Theautonomous driving ECU 20 may be an electronic control unit having aprocessor such as a CPU, a memory such as a ROM or a RAM. In theautonomous driving ECU 20, various functions are realized by loading aprogram recorded in a ROM into a ram and executing the program loadedinto the ram by a CPU. The autonomous driving ECU 20 may comprise aplurality of electronic units.

The autonomous driving ECU 20 is connected to a global positioningsystem receiver [GPS receiver] 21, an external sensor 22, an internalsensor 23, a map database 24, a communication unit 25, an actuator 26,and an exterior display 27.

GPS receiver 21 measures the location of the autonomous driving vehicle2 (e.g., latitude and longitude of the autonomous driving vehicle 2) byreceiving signals from 3 or more GPS satellites. GPS receiver 21transmits the measured position information of the autonomous drivingvehicle 2 to the autonomous driving ECU 20.

The external sensor 22 is an on-vehicle sensor for detecting theexternal environment of the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The externalsensor 22 includes at least a camera. The camera is an imaging devicefor imaging the external environment of the autonomous driving vehicle2. the autonomous driving vehicle 2 may be equipped with an externalcamera for the remote operator R.

The external sensor 22 may include a radar sensor. The radar sensor is adetection device that detects an object around the autonomous drivingvehicle 2 using radio waves (e.g., millimeter waves) or light. The radarsensor includes, for example, a millimeter-wave radar or light detectionand ranging [LIDAR]. The radar sensor detects an object by transmittingradio waves or light around the autonomous driving vehicle 2 andreceiving the radio waves or light reflected by the object. The externalsensor 22 may include a sonar sensor that detects sounds external to theautonomous driving vehicle 2.

The internal sensor 23 is an on-vehicle sensor for detecting the runningstate of the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The internal sensor 23includes a vehicle speed sensor, an accelerometer sensor, and a yaw ratesensor. The vehicle speed sensor is a detector for detecting the speedof the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The acceleration sensor is adetector for detecting an acceleration of the autonomous driving vehicle2. The acceleration sensor includes, for example, a longitudinalacceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration in the longitudinaldirection of the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The acceleration sensormay include a lateral acceleration sensor that detects a lateralacceleration of the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The yaw rate sensor isa detector that detects the yaw rate (rotational angular velocity)around the vertical axis of the center of gravity of the autonomousdriving vehicle 2. as the yaw rate sensor, for example, a gyro sensorcan be used.

The map database 24 is a database for recording map information. The mapdatabase 24 is formed in a recording device such as a hard disk drive[HDD] mounted on the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The map informationincludes, for example, road position information, road shape information(for example, curvature information), position information ofintersections and branch points, and the like. The map information mayinclude traffic regulation information such as a legal maximum speedassociated with the position information. The map information mayinclude target information used to acquire the position information ofthe autonomous driving vehicle 2. The target may include road signs,road markings, traffic lights, utility poles. The map information mayinclude position information of bus stops. The map database 24 may beconfiguration as a server capable of communicating with the autonomousdriving vehicle 2.

The communication unit 25 is a communication device that controlswireless communication with the outside of the autonomous drivingvehicle 2. The communication unit 25 transmits and receives variouskinds of information with the vehicle dispatch server (remote assistanceserver) 10 via the wireless communication network N.

The actuator 26 is a device used to control the autonomous drivingvehicle 2. The actuator 26 includes at least a drive actuator, a brakeactuator, and a steering actuator. The drive actuator controls theamount of air supplied to the engine (throttle opening) in accordancewith a control signal from the autonomous driving ECU 20 to control thedriving force of the autonomous driving vehicle 2. When autonomousdriving vehicle 2 is a hybrid vehicle, a control signal from theautonomous driving ECU 20 is input to a motor serving as a power sourcein addition to the amount of air supplied to the engine to control thedriving force. When the autonomous driving vehicle 2 is an electricvehicle, a control signal from the autonomous driving ECU 20 is inputtedto a motor serving as a power source to control the driving force. Themotor as a power source in these cases constitutes the actuator 26. Theexterior display 27 may be a projector to the window of the autonomousdriving vehicle 2 or an image display device on outer surface of theautonomous driving vehicle 2.

The brake actuator controls the brake system in accordance with acontrol signal from the autonomous driving ECU 20 to control the brakingforce applied to the wheels of the vehicle. As the brake system, forexample, a hydraulic brake system can be used. The steering actuatorcontrols driving of an assist motor for controlling steering torque inthe electric power steering system in accordance with a control signalfrom the autonomous driving ECU 20. Thus, the steering actuator controlsthe steering torque of the autonomous driving vehicle 2.

Next, an example of the functional configuration of the autonomousdriving ECU 20 will be described. The autonomous driving ECU 20 includesa vehicle dispatch instruction recognition unit 31, a vehicle positionacquisition unit 32, an external environment recognition unit 33, atravel state recognition unit 34, an information transmission unit 35, aremote assistance request determination unit 36, a trajectory generationunit 37, and an autonomous driving control unit 38. Some functions ofthe autonomous driving ECU 20 may be executed by a server capable ofcommunicating with the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The server that cancommunicate may include the vehicle dispatch server 10.

The vehicle dispatch instruction recognition unit 31 recognizes thedispatch instruction which is the instruction relating to the dispatchtransmitted from the vehicle dispatch server 10. The positioninformation of the point of dispatch P is included in the dispatchinstruction. If the vehicle dispatch instruction has already beendetermined, the vehicle dispatch route information may be included.

The vehicle position acquisition unit 32 acquires the positioninformation (position on the map) of the autonomous driving vehiclereceiving unit based on the position information of the GPS receiver 21and the map information of the map database 24. The vehicle positionacquisition unit 32 may acquire the position information of theautonomous driving vehicle 2 by the SLAM (simultaneous localization andmapping) technique using the target information included in the mapinformation of the map database 24 and the detection result of theexternal sensor 22. The vehicle position acquisition unit 32 mayrecognize the lateral position of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 withrespect to the lane (the position of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 inthe lane width direction) from the positional relationship between thelane marking line and the autonomous driving vehicle 2, and include itin the position information. In addition, the vehicle positionacquisition unit 32 may acquire the position information of theautonomous driving vehicle 2 by the method of known.

The external environment recognition unit 33 recognizes the externalenvironment of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 based on the detectionresult of the external sensor 22. The external environment includes therelative positions of the surrounding objects to the autonomous drivingvehicle 2. The external environment may include the relative velocityand direction of movement of the surrounding object relative to theautonomous driving vehicle 2. The external environment may include typesof objects such as other vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, etc. The typeof the object can be identified by a known method such as patternmatching. The external environment may include the result of lot linerecognition (lane line recognition) around the autonomous drivingvehicle 2. The external environment may include a recognition result ofthe lighting state of the signal. For example, the external environmentrecognition unit 33 can recognize the lighting state of the signal aheadof the autonomous driving vehicle 2 (e.g., whether the lighting state isa passable lighting state or a pass-prohibited lighting state) based onthe image of the camera of the external sensor 22.

The traveling state recognition unit 34 recognizes the traveling stateof the autonomous driving vehicle 2 based on the detection result of theinternal sensor 23. Driving conditions include vehicle speed of theautonomous driving vehicle 2, accelerations of the autonomous drivingvehicle 2, and yaw rate of the autonomous driving vehicle 2.Specifically, the traveling state recognition unit 34 recognizes thevehicle speed of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 based on the vehiclespeed information of the vehicle speed sensor. The traveling staterecognition unit 34 recognizes the acceleration of the autonomousdriving vehicle 2 based on the vehicle speed information of theacceleration sensor. The traveling state recognition unit 34 recognizesthe direction of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 based on the yaw rateinformation of the yaw rate sensor.

The information transmission unit 35 transmits vehicle informationrelating to the status of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 to thevehicle dispatch server 10 via the communication unit 25. The vehicleinformation includes at least the position information of the autonomousdriving vehicle 2. The vehicle information may include information onthe remaining fuel (remaining amount of gasoline, remaining amount ofbattery, and the like) of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 orinformation on the mileage predicted from the remaining fuel.

The vehicle information may include the autonomous driving vehicle 2status, such as during user pickup, during luggage transportation, orfor other reasons, that the vehicle cannot be dispatched. The vehicleinformation may include information on the remaining number ofpassengers, and may include information on the loading capacity of thebaggage (or the loading upper limit and the current loading capacity).The vehicle information may include the external environment(surrounding traffic information) of the autonomous driving vehicle 2recognized by the external environment recognition unit 33. The vehicleinformation may include the traveling state of the autonomous drivingvehicle 2 recognized by the traveling state recognition unit 34.

The remote assistance request determination unit 36 determines whetheror not autonomous driving vehicle 2 should request remote assistancefrom the remote operator R. The remote assistance request determinationunit 36 determines whether to request remote assistance based on atleast one of the position information of the autonomous driving vehicle2 acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 32 and the mapinformation of the map database 24, the external environment recognizedby the external environment recognition unit 33, and the coursegenerated by the trajectory generation unit 37 described later.

The remote assistance request determination unit 36 determines that theremote assistance should be requested when the autonomous drivingvehicle 2 enters the remote assistance request status. The remoteassistance request status is a status that is preset as a status inwhich the autonomous driving vehicle should request remote assistancefrom the remote operator R.

The remote assistance request status may include the followingconditions. The conditions include the autonomous driving vehicle 2turning right at the intersection, the autonomous driving vehicle 2entering the intersection with or without a traffic light, and theautonomous driving vehicle 2 passing through the traffic light (e.g.,passes through a traffic light corresponding to a pedestrian crossing onthe way), the autonomous driving vehicle 2 starting changing lanes, theautonomous driving vehicle 2 entering a construction section, theautonomous driving vehicle 2 entering a railroad crossing, theautonomous driving vehicle stopping at the point of dispatch P or thedestination.

The autonomous driving vehicle 2 does not necessarily request remoteassistance when turning right at the intersection. The autonomousdriving vehicle 2 may automatically turn right at an intersection undercertain conditions (e.g., no oncoming vehicle is detected) withoutrequesting remote assistance. In the case of a country or area ofright-hand traffic, the autonomous driving vehicle 2 may turn left atthe intersection instead of turning right at the intersection.

The remote assistance request determination unit 36 may determine thatremote assistance should be requested when the autonomous drivingvehicle 2 enters an intersection or turns right at an intersection. Theremote assistance request determination unit 36 may determine that theremote assistance should be requested when the autonomous drivingvehicle 2 starts changing lanes to reach the destination. When theremote assistance request determination unit 36 determines that theremote assistance should be requested, it requests the remote assistanceby the remote operator R from the vehicle dispatch server 10. The remoteassistance request includes, for example, identification information ofthe autonomous driving vehicle 2.

The trajectory generation unit 37 generates a trajectory used for theautonomous driving of the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The trajectorygeneration unit 37 generates the trajectory of the autonomous drivingbased on the route, the map information, the position information, theexternal environment, and the traveling state of the vehicle. Thetrajectory corresponds to the travel plan of autonomous driving. Thetrajectory will be described in detail later.

The trajectory includes the path along which the vehicles will travel inautonomous driving and the vehicle speed plan in autonomous driving. Thepath is a locus on which vehicles in the autonomous driving are totravel on the dispatch route. The path can be steering angle plan dataof the steering angle change of the autonomous driving vehicle 2corresponding to the position on the vehicle dispatch route. Theposition on the dispatch route is, for example, a set longitudinalposition set at predetermined intervals (for example, 1 m) in thetraveling direction of the dispatch route. The steering angle plan isdata in which a target steering angle is associated with each setlongitudinal position.

The trajectory generation unit 37 generates a trajectory along which theautonomous driving vehicle 2 travels, for example, based on the vehicledispatch route, the map information, the external environment of theautonomous driving vehicle 2, and the traveling state of the autonomousdriving vehicle 2. The trajectory generation unit 37 may generate aroute such that the autonomous driving vehicle 2 passes through thecenter of the lane (the center in the lane width direction) included inthe dispatch route.

The vehicle speed plan is data in which a target vehicle speed isassociated with each set longitudinal position, for example. The setlongitudinal position may be set based on the travel time of theautonomous driving vehicle 2 instead of the distance. The setlongitudinal position may be set as an arrival position one second afterthe vehicle and an arrival position two seconds after the vehicle. Inthis case, the vehicle speed plan can also be expressed as datacorresponding to the travel time.

The trajectory generation unit 37 generates a vehicle speed plan basedon the path and the traffic regulation information such as a legalmaximum speed in the map information. Instead of the legal maximumspeed, a speed preset for a position or section on the map may be used.When the autonomous driving vehicle 2 is an autonomous driving bus, thetrajectory generation unit 37 may generate a local speed plan based onthe operation plan including the arrival time determined at the stop,taking the stop time at the stop into consideration. The trajectorygeneration unit 37 generates a trajectory of the autonomous driving fromthe path and the vehicle speed plan. Note that the trajectory ofgenerating a trajectory in the trajectory generating unit 37 is notlimited to the above-described content, and the known method forautonomous driving can be adopted. The same applies to the content ofthe trajectory.

For example, in a situation where the autonomous driving vehicle 2 makesa right turn at an intersection, the trajectory generation unit 37generates a trajectory where the autonomous driving vehicle 2 makes aright turn at the intersection so as to correspond to remote assistancefor starting a right turn. The trajectory generation unit 37 may updatethe trajectory in accordance with changes in the external environmentuntil the remote assistance is received. Further, when there is remoteassistance for switching from turning right at the intersection to goingstraight at the intersection, the trajectory generation unit 37 maygenerate a trajectory to go straight at the intersection in advance.

The autonomous driving control unit 38 executes autonomous driving ofthe autonomous driving vehicle 2. The autonomous driving control unit 38executes the autonomous driving of the autonomous driving vehicle 2based on the external environment of the autonomous driving vehicle 2,the running state of the autonomous driving vehicle 2, and thetrajectory generated by the trajectory generation unit 37. Theautonomous driving control unit 38 transmits a control signal to theactuator 26, thereby performing autonomous driving of the autonomousdriving vehicle 2.

The autonomous driving control unit 38 waits for reception of the remoteassistance from the vehicle dispatch server 10 when the remoteassistance request determination unit 36 requests the remote assistancefrom the vehicle dispatch server 10. The autonomous driving control unit38 maintains the stop state until the remote assistance is received whenthe autonomous driving control unit 38 requests the remote assistanceafter the autonomous driving vehicle 2 stops. The autonomous drivingcontrol unit 38 executes autonomous driving (lane change, etc.) when itreceives the remote assistance.

Configuration of Vehicle dispatching Server

Next, the configuration of the vehicle dispatch server 10 will bedescribed. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of thehardware configuration of the vehicle dispatch server 10. The mapdatabase 4 and the remote assistance history database 5 are connected tothe vehicle dispatch server 10.

The map database 4 is a database for recording map information. The mapinformation includes road position information, road shape information(e.g., curvature information), position information of intersections andbranch points, and the like. More detailed map information than the mapdatabase 24 of the autonomous driving vehicle may be stored in the mapdatabase 4.

The remote assistance history database 5 is a database for recording thehistory of the request frequency for which the remote assistance isrequested from the autonomous driving vehicle 2. The remote assistancehistory database 5 may also record the contents of the remote assistanceperformed by the remote operator R.

In the remote assistance history database 5, for example, the requestfrequency of the remote assistance is recorded for each section of thelane. There is no particular limitation on how the section isdetermined. The request frequency of the remote assistance for eachsection may be the frequency at which the remote assistance is requestedto lane change to avoid approaching a vehicle parked on the shoulder ofthe section. The request frequency of the remote assistance for eachsection may be the frequency at which the remote assistance is requestedto lane change to avoid an offset exceeding the oncoming lane. Thehigher the probability of a parking vehicle or the like being present,the higher the frequency of requests for remote assistance. The requestfrequency of the remote assistance for each section of the lane may bethe number of requests of the remote assistance for the number of timesthe autonomous driving vehicle 2 has traveled in the section.

The remote assistance history database 5 may record the requestfrequency of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 when turning right at eachintersection. When the autonomous driving vehicle 2 has a function ofautomatically turning right at an intersection without requesting remoteassistance under certain conditions (for example, when an oncomingvehicle is not detected) (self-determination right turn function), aremote assistance request is not always made at the time of turningright at the intersection. The higher the traffic volume of the vehicleand the higher the probability of waiting for an oncoming vehicle whenturning right at the intersection, the higher the frequency of requestswhen turning right at the intersection. The request frequency of theremote assistance at the time of turning right at the intersection canbe, for example, the number of requests of the remote assistance out ofthe number of times of turning right at the intersection of theautonomous driving vehicle 2.

The request frequency described above may be recorded in associationwith time. The request frequency is recorded in association with timezones such as early morning, daytime, evening, and night. The requestfrequency may be recorded in association with traffic information suchas vehicle density, or may be recorded in association with weather.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the vehicle dispatch server 10 isconfiguration as a general computer having a processor 10 a, a recordingunit 10 b, a communication unit 10 c, and a user interface 10 d. In thiscase, the user means a user (administrator or the like) of the vehicledispatch server 10.

T The processor 10 a controls the vehicle dispatch server 10 byoperating various operating systems. The processor 10 a is an arithmeticunit such as a CPU including a control unit, an arithmetic unit, aregister, etc. The processor 10 a integrates the recording unit 10 b,the communication unit 10 c, and the user interface 10 d. The recordingunit 10 b includes at least one of a memory and a storage. The memory isa recording medium such as ROM or RAM. The storage is a recording mediumsuch as an HDD.

The communication unit 10 c is a communication device for performingcommunication via the wireless communication network N. Thecommunication unit 10 c may be a network device, a network controller, anetwork card, or the like. The user interface 10 d is an input/outputunit of the vehicle dispatch server 10 for a user such as anadministrator. The user interface 10 d includes an output device such asa display, a speaker, and an input device such as a touch panel. Thevehicle dispatch server 10 is not necessarily provided in the facility,and may be mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle.

Next, the functional configuration of the vehicle dispatch server 10will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example ofthe functional configuration of the vehicle dispatch server 10. Asillustrated in FIG. 5 , the vehicle dispatch server 10 includes avehicle information acquisition unit 41, a vehicle dispatch requestreception unit 42, a dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43, atraffic information acquisition unit 44, a route search unit 45, arequired time prediction unit 46, a remote assistance request numbercalculation unit 47, and a vehicle dispatch route determination unit 48.

The vehicle information acquisition unit 41 acquires vehicle informationfrom the autonomous driving vehicle 2, which is an object of dispatch.The object of dispatch may include all autonomous driving vehicles 2managed by the vehicle dispatch server 10, or may not include theautonomous driving vehicle 2 on which the user is on board. For example,when the user permits the sharing of the vehicle, the autonomous drivingvehicle 2 in which the user is on the vehicle may be included in theobject of dispatch.

The vehicle information acquisition unit 41 may acquire the vehicleinformation by issuing an information provision instruction to aplurality of the autonomous driving vehicles 2 to be dispatched, or mayacquire the vehicle information by transmitting the vehicle informationfrom the autonomous driving vehicles 2 at regular intervals.

The vehicle dispatch request receiving unit 42 receives a vehicledispatch request from the user. The vehicle dispatch request may betransmitted from the user terminal 50. The vehicle dispatch request maybe made from a server or the like for reserving the vehicle dispatch.The vehicle dispatch request may be a ride request for a user to ride,or a pickup request for a user to request delivery of a parcel. Therequest for dispatching a vehicle may be a request for specifying thetime of advance reservation. The vehicle dispatch request may include atleast one of information for specifying the number of passengers,information for specifying the type of vehicle, information forspecifying the new vehicle, and information for specifying the color ofthe vehicle.

The vehicle dispatch request receiving unit 42 sets the point ofdispatch P for dispatching autonomous driving vehicle 2 based on thereceived vehicle dispatch request. The point of dispatch P is a boardingpoint for a user to board if the type of the received vehicle dispatchrequest is a boarding request. The point of dispatch P is a pickup pointfor the user to deposit the luggage at the autonomous driving vehicle 2when the type of the received vehicle dispatch request is a pickuprequest. The point of dispatch P may be determined by the user'sdesignation, or may be set based on the position information of the userterminal 60 from a plurality of possible boarding points set in advanceon the map. There is no particular limitation on how to decide the pointof dispatch P.

The dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 will select adispatched candidate vehicle. The dispatched candidate vehicle is acandidate vehicle to be dispatched to the point of dispatch P. Thedispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 selects multipledispatched candidate vehicles based on the location of the point ofdispatch P and the position of the autonomous driving vehicle 2. Thedispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 selects, for example, theautonomous driving vehicle 2 located within a certain distance from thepoint of dispatch P as the dispatched candidate vehicle.

The dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 may set the maximumnumber of dispatched candidate vehicles. When the number of theautonomous driving vehicle 2 s located within a certain distance fromthe point of dispatch P exceeds a predetermined upper limit, the numberof dispatched candidate vehicles is limited to be equal to or less thanthe upper limit. The dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 mayselect the dispatched candidate vehicle in order of proximity to pointof dispatch P, thereby narrowing down the number of dispatched candidatevehicle to be equal to or less than the upper limit of the number. Theupper limit of the number is two or more.

Alternatively, the dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 may beconfigured to select the dispatched candidate vehicle up to the upperlimit of the number of units in order of proximity to the point ofdispatch P. The dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 may usethe distance on the road instead of the linear distance. The autonomousdriving vehicle 2 may exclude from dispatched candidate vehicle that isnot within the same area as the point of dispatch P. The area is apreset area on the map. The area may be a city, town or village on themap.

The dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 may executenarrowing-down of the dispatched candidate vehicle based on theremaining fuel of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 or the mileage of theautonomous driving vehicle 2. For example, the dispatched candidatevehicle selection unit 43 excludes from dispatched candidate vehicle theautonomous driving vehicle 2 where the remaining fuel is less than theremaining fuel threshold or where the mileage is less than the mileagethreshold. Hereinafter, the threshold values used in the descriptionincluding the residual fuel threshold value and the drivable distancethreshold value mean threshold values of predetermined values.

The dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 selects theautonomous driving vehicle 2 as dispatched candidate vehicle along thecondition by user if at least one of the information for specifying thenumber of passengers, the information for specifying the type ofvehicle, the information for specifying the new vehicle, the color ofthe vehicle, and the like is included in the vehicle dispatch request.

The traffic information acquisition unit 44 acquires traffic informationto be used for determining a vehicle dispatch route. The trafficinformation includes, for example, vehicle density. The trafficinformation may include congestion information. The traffic informationmay include information on road construction sections. The trafficinformation acquisition unit 44 may acquire traffic information aroundthe dispatched candidate vehicle by acquiring vehicle information fromthe dispatched candidate vehicle. The traffic information acquisitionunit 44 may acquire traffic information around the point of dispatch Pby communication with a public organization or a private trafficinformation aggregation server. The traffic information acquisition unit44 may acquire traffic information around the point of dispatch P byproviding information from the autonomous driving vehicle 2 running inthe vicinity of the point of dispatch P (for example, the autonomousdriving vehicle not subject to the dispatch while the user is on board).

The route search unit 45 searches for a route for the dispatchedcandidate vehicle to get to the point of dispatch P. The route searchunit 45 searches at least one route per dispatched candidate vehicle.The route search unit 45 may perform a route search based on theposition information of the point of dispatch P and the dispatchedcandidate vehicle and the map information of the map database 4. Theroute search unit 45 may perform a route search by recognizing thetravelling lane of dispatched candidate vehicle or the travelingdirection of dispatched candidate vehicle.

The route search unit 45 may search for a plurality of the routes untilthe number of routes reaches a preset maximum in the order of theshortest route lengths. The route search method is not particularlylimited, and the method of known can be adopted.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation where aplurality of the routes of the dispatched candidate vehicle exist. FIG.6 shows the dispatched candidate vehicle 2A, the dispatched candidatevehicle 2B, the point of dispatch P, and the roads L1-L4. The roadsL1-L4 are arranged in a grid pattern and form four intersections T1-T4.The road L1 is a road on which the dispatched candidate vehicle 2A isrunning, and intersects the road L2 at the intersection T1 and alsointersects the road L3 at the intersection T2 located in the back of theintersection T1. The road L2 intersects the road L4 (a road extending inparallel with the road L1) at the intersection T1, and intersects theroad L1 at the intersection T1. The point of dispatch P is located onthe right side of the dispatched candidate vehicle 2A on the road L2.The road L3 intersects the road L4 at the intersection T4 and intersectsthe road L1 at the intersection T1.

In the situation illustrated in FIG. 6 , the route search unit 45searches the route RA1 and the route RA2 as the route by which thedispatched candidate vehicle 2A reaches the point of dispatch P. Theroute RA1 is a route from the road L1 to the point of dispatch P on theroad L2 by turning right at the intersection T1. The route RA2 is aroute that goes straight through the intersection T1, turns left at theintersection T2, and proceeds on the road L3, then turns left at theintersection T3 and proceeds on the road L4, and then turns left at theintersection T4 to enter the road L2, and goes straight through theintersection T1 to arrive at the point of dispatch P.

The required time prediction unit 46 predicts the required time by theroute searched by the route search unit 45. The required time predictionunit 46 predicts the required time for each route when a plurality ofthe routes is searched.

The required time prediction unit 46 predicts the required time untilthe dispatched candidate vehicle arrives at the point of dispatch P whenthe vehicle travels at a constant speed, for example, based on thelength of the route. In the situation illustrated in FIG. 6 , therequired time prediction unit 46 predicts that the required time of theroute RA1 is shorter than the required time of the route RA2.

The required time prediction unit 46 may predict the required time byadding the addition time set in advance for each event such as turningright at the intersection of the route, passing through the trafficlight, crossing the railroad crossing based on the map information. Therequired time prediction unit 46 may set the addition time such asturning right at the intersection to a different time depending on theposition on the map. For example, in the situation illustrated in FIG. 6, when the intersection T1 is an intersection without a traffic lighthaving a large traffic volume on the road L1 and the addition time dueto the right turn of the intersection is set as a large time, therequired time prediction unit 46 predicts that the required time of theroute RA1 is longer than the required time of the route RA2.

The required time prediction unit 46 may predict the required time basedon the trajectory (route and vehicle speed plan) of the autonomousdriving for each route. The trajectory of the autonomous driving isgenerated, for example, by the trajectory generation unit 37 at thedispatched candidate vehicle. The trajectory generation unit 37generates the trajectory of the autonomous driving based on the route,the point of dispatch P, the map information, the external environmentof the autonomous driving vehicle, and the running state of theautonomous driving vehicle.

Instead of the dispatched candidate vehicle, a trajectory of autonomousdriving may be generated at the vehicle dispatch server 10. In thiscase, the required time prediction unit 46 predicts the required timebased on the trajectory of the autonomous driving for each routegenerated at the vehicle dispatch server 10. The path of the autonomousdriving generated at the vehicle dispatch server 10 does not necessarilyneed to be used for the actual autonomous driving at the dispatchedcandidate vehicle. Alternatively, the trajectory may be generated atother servers instead of the vehicle dispatch server 10.

The method of predicting the required time is not particularly limited,and the method of known can be adopted. For the prediction of therequired time, the prediction result of the machine learning based onvarious travel histories of the autonomous driving vehicle 2 in the pastmay be used.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 calculates thenumber of remote assistance requests on the route, which is the numberof remote assistance requests that the dispatched candidate vehiclerequests the remote operator R for remote assistance, based on the routeand the previously set remote assistance request conditions.

The remote assistance request condition is a condition that thedispatched candidate vehicle requests remote assistance from the remoteoperator R. The remote assistance request condition is satisfied whenthe remote assistance request determination unit 36 determines that thedispatched candidate vehicle (the autonomous driving vehicle 2) is inthe remote assistance request status. In the remote assistance requestcondition, an event such as a lane change on the route may be associatedwith a count of the number of remote assistance requests.

For example, the remote assistance request number calculation unit 47counts one remote assistance request number on the route when a lanechange is performed on a route. The case where the lane change iscarried out in the route is, for example, a case where the lane changefrom the left lane to the right lane is required in a multi-lane road inorder to arrive at the point of dispatch P.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 may count oneremote assistance request number on the route when turning right at anintersection on a route. The remote assistance request numbercalculation unit 47 may count one remote assistance request number ofthe route RA2 for making right turns at the intersection. In thesituation illustrated in FIG. 6 , the remote assistance request numbercalculation unit 47 may count remote assistance request number of theroute RA1 for one right turn at the intersection as “1”. The remoteassistance request number calculation unit 47 may count remoteassistance request number of the route RA2 without making a right turnat the intersection as “0”.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 does notnecessarily have to count one remote assistance request number when thedispatched candidate vehicle has a self-determination right turnfunction of turning right at an intersection without requesting remoteassistance under a certain condition. The remote assistance requestnumber calculation unit 47 may count the number of remote assistancerequests by 0.5 or by 0.7 in consideration of the possibility of remoteassistance being requested.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 may determinethe count number of the remote assistance requests at the intersectionright turn by using the traffic information in the vicinity of theintersection acquired by the traffic information acquisition unit 44. Inthis case, the route includes position information on the map. Forexample, the remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 maycount the number of remote assistance requests at the right turn of theintersection as a larger value as the vehicle density near theintersection is larger. Alternatively, the remote assistance requestnumber calculation unit 47 may count the number of remote assistancerequests at the right turn of the intersection as a larger value thanwhen the vehicle density in the vicinity of the intersection is lessthan the density threshold when the vehicle density in the vicinity ofthe intersection is equal to or greater than the density threshold.Here, it is assumed that the count of the number of remote assistancerequests for one event is “1” at the maximum.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 may count thenumber of remote assistance requests at the intersection turn using therequest frequency of the remote assistance stored in the remoteassistance history database 5. When the dispatched candidate vehicle hasthe self-determination right turn function, the remote-assistancerequest number calculation unit 47 may set the count number of theremote-assistance requests at the right turn of the intersection to alarger value as the request frequency of the remote assistance at thetime of turning the intersection, which is recorded in association withthe intersection to be turned right on the route, is larger.

Alternatively, the remote assistance request number calculating unit 47may count the number of the remote assistance requests at the time ofturning right at the intersection as a larger value than when therequest frequency of the remote assistance at the time of turning rightat the intersection is less than the right turn request threshold whenthe request frequency of the remote assistance at the time of turningright at the intersection is equal to or greater than the right turnrequest threshold.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 may count thenumber of remote assistance requests using both the traffic informationin the vicinity of the intersection acquired by the traffic informationacquisition unit 44 and the request frequency of the remote assistancestored in the remote assistance history database 5.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 may calculatethe count number of the remote assistance requests at the right turn ofthe intersection by increasing or decreasing the count number of theremote assistance requests at the right turn of the intersection, whichis obtained from the remote assistance request frequency, inconsideration of the influence of the traffic information (vehicledensity, etc.). Alternatively, when the request frequency of the remoteassistance is recorded in the remote assistance history database 5 inassociation with the traffic information, the remote assistance requestnumber calculation unit 47 can calculate the count number of the remoteassistance request number from the request frequency of the remoteassistance at the right turn of the intersection more accuratelyextracted based on the traffic information by referring to the trafficinformation in the vicinity of the current intersection.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 may count thenumber of remote assistance requests in the section of the lane usingthe request frequency of the remote assistance stored in the remoteassistance history database 5. The remote-assistance request numbercalculation unit 47 may count the number of remote assistance requestsin a section included in the route as a larger value as the requestfrequency of the remote assistance in the section is higher.Alternatively, when the request frequency of the remote assistance inthe section of the lane included in the route is equal to or greaterthan the section request threshold, the remote assistance request numbercalculation unit 47 may count the number of remote assistance requestsin the section as a larger value than when the request frequency of theremote assistance in the section of the lane is less than the sectionrequest threshold.

The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 may count thenumber of remote assistance requests by referring to the mapinformation. The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47may count one remote assistance request number when, for example, thereis a traffic signal passing on the route (straight ahead or left at anintersection). The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47may count one remote assistance request number when there is a railroadcrossing on the route. The remote assistance request number calculationunit 47 may count one remote assistance request number when there is aconstruction section on the route. How to count the number of remoteassistance requests can be arbitrarily set as a remote assistancerequest condition.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines the dispatch routefor the point of dispatch P and a dispatch vehicle to the point ofdispatch P. When there is only one dispatched candidate vehicle selectedby the dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43, the vehicledispatch determination unit 48 determines the one dispatched candidatevehicle as the dispatch vehicle. The vehicle dispatch determination unit48 determines that the autonomous driving vehicle 2 having the baggageis a vehicle for dispatching a vehicle when the request for dispatchinga vehicle is a request for receiving the baggage to be received by theuser.

When there is only one route searched for by the route search unit 45,to dispatch route determination unit 48 determines the one route as thevehicle dispatch route for the dispatched candidate vehicle. The vehicledispatch determination unit 48 transmits a vehicle dispatch instructionincluding the vehicle dispatch route to the dispatched candidatevehicle.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may determine the dispatchroute of the dispatched candidate vehicle based on the required time ofeach route and the number of remote assistance requests of each route,when there is only one dispatched candidate vehicle selected by thedispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 and a plurality of theroutes has been searched for by the route search unit 45. The vehicledispatch determination unit 48 transmits a vehicle dispatch instructionincluding the vehicle dispatch route to the dispatched candidatevehicle. The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may notify the userterminal 50 of the location information of the dispatch vehicle and therequired time.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 narrows down, for example,only routes whose required time is less than the first time-thresholdand whose number of remote assistance requests is less than the firstrequest-threshold. The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48determines, as a vehicle dispatch route, a route having the smallestnumber of remote assistance requests among the remaining routes. Forexample, in the situation illustrated in FIG. 6 , when the required timefor both the route RA1 and the route RA2 is less than the firsttime-threshold, The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determinesthe route RA2, which is not the route RA1 having the number of remoteassistance requests of “1” but has the number of remote assistancerequests of “0” even if it is a little detour, as the vehicle dispatchroute. When there are a plurality of the routes having the smallestnumber of remote assistance requests, the vehicle dispatch determinationunit 48 determines the route having the smallest required time as thevehicle dispatch route.

When no route remains in the route narrowing, the vehicle dispatchdetermination unit 48 may relax the threshold condition. The vehicledispatch determination unit 48 changes, for example, the firsttime-threshold for the required time or the first request-threshold forthe number of remote assistance requests to a large value.Alternatively, the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may eliminatethe requirement of the threshold value of the required time or thenumber of remote assistance requests. The vehicle dispatch determinationunit 48 repeats the relaxation of the threshold condition until theroute remains. Thereafter, the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48determines the route having the smallest number of remote assistancerequests as the vehicle dispatch route among the remaining routes. Theroute determination unit 48 does not necessarily perform routenarrowing.

It is not always necessary to use the route with the smallest number ofremote assistance requests as the dispatch route. The vehicle dispatchdetermination unit 48 may determine a route having the least requiredtime as a vehicle dispatch route. In this case, for example, in thesituation illustrated in FIG. 6 , The vehicle dispatch determinationunit 48 determines the route RA2, which requires a shorter time than theroute RA1, as the vehicle dispatch route. When there are a plurality ofthe routes having the least required time, the vehicle dispatchdetermination unit 48 determines the route having the least number ofremote assistance requests as the vehicle dispatch route.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may change the method ofdetermining the vehicle dispatch route according to the type of thevehicle dispatch request. For example, when the vehicle dispatch requestis a ride request for a user to ride, The vehicle dispatch determinationunit 48 may determine the route having the least required time as thevehicle dispatch route with priority given to the small required time.When the vehicle dispatch request is a pickup request for the user'sbaggage delivery request, the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 maydetermine the route having the smallest number of remote assistancerequests as the vehicle dispatch route, giving priority to the smallnumber of remote assistance requests. When the vehicle dispatch requestis a time specification, the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 maydetermine the route having the smallest number of remote assistancerequests as the vehicle dispatch route regardless of the type of thevehicle dispatch request.

The dispatch route determination unit 48 may postpone the determinationof the dispatch route from the plurality of the routes to the routebranch point. For example, in the case where the section where thedispatched candidate vehicle reaches the route branch point is common toall the routes, the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 postpones thedetermination of the vehicle dispatch route until the dispatchedcandidate vehicle reaches the route branch point. A route branch pointis a point at which a plurality of the routes branch. For example, aroute branch point is an intersection.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines whether or not thedispatched candidate vehicle has reached the route branch point based onthe map information and the position information of the dispatchedcandidate vehicle. Reaching the route branch point may mean that thedispatched candidate vehicle enters the intersection which is the routebranch point, or that the dispatched candidate vehicle reaches a point acertain distance before the route branch point. The certain distance isnot particularly limited. The certain distance may be 1 m or 3 m. Thepoint before a certain distance may be the position of the temporarystop line at the entrance of the intersection.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating for explaining the postponement ofdetermination of vehicle dispatch route to the route branch point. FIG.7 shows the dispatched candidate vehicle 2A, route RA10, route RA11,route RA12, route branch point T10, route branch point T11, and thepoint of dispatch P. The route branch point T10 and the route branchpoint T11 are, for example, T-junctions. At the route branch point T10,the route RA10 branches to the right, and the routes RA11 and RA12branch to the left. At the route branch point T11, the route RA11branches to the right and the route RA12 branches to the left.

In the situation illustrated in FIG. 7 , the dispatch routedetermination unit 48 may postpone the determination of the dispatchroute until the dispatched candidate vehicle 2A reaches the route branchpoint T10. For example, when the dispatched candidate vehicle 2A reachesthe route branch point T10, the traffic information in the vicinity ofthe route branch point T10 can be acquired from the dispatched candidatevehicle 2A, and the prediction accuracy of the required time by therequired time prediction unit 46 can be improved using the trafficinformation. The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines thevehicle dispatch route using the required time newly predicted for eachroute (route RA10, route RA11, and route RA12). It is to be noted thatthe acquisition of the traffic information from the dispatched candidatevehicle 2A is not necessarily required, and the accuracy of theprediction of the required time by the required time prediction unit 46can be improved by using the latest traffic information obtained by theelapse of time. Further, since the remaining length of each route up tothe point of dispatch P is shortened by the amount of travel ofdispatched candidate vehicle, it is possible to improve the predictionaccuracy of the required time as compared with the case of not postpone.

If the route RA10 is not determined to be the dispatch route even whenthe dispatched candidate vehicle 2A reaches the route branch point T10(if the route RA11 or the route RA12 is a candidate for the dispatchroute), the dispatch route determination unit 48 may postpone thedetermination of the dispatch route until the dispatched candidatevehicle 2A reaches the next route branch point T11. The vehicle dispatchdetermination unit 48 may determine the vehicle dispatch route from theroute RA11 and the route RA12 by using the required time newly predictedwhen the dispatched candidate vehicle 2A reaches the next route branchpoint T11.

When there is a plurality of the dispatched candidate vehicles selectedby the dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43, the vehicledispatch determination unit 48 determines the dispatch route as in thecase where there is only one the dispatched candidate vehicle, therebydetermining the dispatched candidate vehicle having the dispatch routeas the dispatch vehicle. the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48sends a dispatch instruction including a dispatch route to the dispatchvehicle. The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may notify the userterminal 50 of the location information of the dispatch vehicle and therequired time.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may narrow down to only thoseroutes in which the required time is less than the second time-thresholdand the number of remote assistance requests is less than the secondrequest-threshold among all the routes of the dispatched candidatevehicles. The second time-threshold value may be a threshold value equalto or different from the first time-threshold value of only onedispatched candidate vehicle. The second request-threshold value may bea threshold value equal to or different from the first request-thresholdvalue of only one dispatched candidate vehicle. When there is no routeleft in the route narrowing, the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48may relax the threshold condition as in the case where there is only onedispatched candidate vehicle.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may change the values of thesecond time-threshold and/or the second request-threshold for eachdispatched candidate vehicles. The vehicle dispatch determination unit48 may set the second time threshold value to a larger value as thedistance from the point of dispatch P is greater at the dispatchedcandidate vehicle. As a result, it is possible to find the dispatchedcandidate vehicle that has a route with a small number of remoteassistance requests even if it is far from the point of dispatch P. Theroute determination unit 48 does not necessarily perform routenarrowing.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may change the value of thesecond request-threshold value based on the number of working people ofthe remote operator R (the number of remote assistance requests that canbe handled). When the number of workers of the remote operator R issufficiently large, the required time can be given priority withoutimposing a load on the remote operator R. The vehicle dispatchdetermination unit 48 may set the second request-threshold value to alarger value as the number of workers of the remote operator Rincreases. The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may change thesecond request-threshold value according to the change in the number ofworking people of the remote operator R (the change in the number ofremote assistance requests that can be handled over time).

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines the route with thesmallest the remote assistance request number as the dispatch routeamong the routes remaining after the narrowing down. The vehicledispatch determination unit 48 may determine the route having theshortest required time among the routes remaining after the narrowingdown as the dispatch route. The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48determines that the dispatched candidate vehicle, which has the dispatchroute, is the dispatch vehicle for the point of dispatch P.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a situation where a pluralityof the dispatched candidate vehicles exists. FIG. 8 shows the route RB1of the dispatched candidate vehicle 2B and the dispatched candidatevehicle 2B (the rest of the route RB2 is the same as that of FIG. 6 ,and the description thereof is omitted). The dispatched candidatevehicle 2B is a vehicle running on road L2. The route RB1 is a route togo straight through the intersection T4 and the intersection T1 on theroad L2 and arrive at the point of dispatch P. In the route RB1, sincethere is no right turn at the intersection, the remote assistancerequest number is “0”, and the required time is shorter than that of theroute RA1 and the route RA2. The route RA1, the route RA2, and the routeRB1 satisfy the condition of narrowing down.

In the situation illustrated in FIG. 8 , the vehicle dispatchdetermination unit 48 determines the dispatch route from the routes RA1and RA2 of the dispatched candidate vehicle 2A and the route RB1 of thedispatched candidate vehicle 2B. The vehicle dispatch determination unit48 may determine the route RB1 as the dispatch route when givingpriority to the small required time. The vehicle dispatch determinationunit 48 determines the dispatched candidate vehicle 2B having the routeRB1 as the dispatch vehicle.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 extracts the route RA2 andRB1 where the remote assistance request number is “0”, when it givespriority to the small number of the remote assistance request number.

The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines the route RB1having the shortest required time as the dispatch route, payingattention to the required time, when there is a plurality of the routesin which the remote assistance request number is “0”. The vehicledispatch determination unit 48 determines the dispatched candidatevehicle 2B having the route RB1 as the dispatch vehicle.

As in the case where only one the dispatched candidate vehicle is used,the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may change the method ofdetermining the vehicle dispatch route according to the type of thevehicle dispatch request. When the dispatch request is a timespecification, the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may determinethe route having the smallest the remote assistance request number asthe dispatch route regardless of the type of the dispatch request.

Vehicle Dispatch Method of Vehicle Dispatch System

Next, the vehicle dispatch method of the vehicle dispatch system 1 (thevehicle dispatch server 10) according to this embodiment will bedescribed. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a vehicledispatch route determination process. The vehicle dispatch routedetermination process may be executed when a vehicle dispatch request isreceived by the vehicle dispatch request reception unit 42. The vehicledispatch route determination process may be started when a vehicledispatch request with a specified time is received, and when apredetermined time elapses from the specified time.

As illustrated in FIG. 9 , the vehicle dispatch server 10 of vehicledispatch system 1 sets the point of dispatch P by the vehicle dispatchrequest receiving unit 42 in S10 (point of dispatch setting step). Thevehicle dispatch request receiving unit 42 may set a point closest tothe position of the user terminal 50 as point of dispatch P from among aplurality of possible boarding points set in advance on the map based onthe position information of the user terminal 50.

In S12, the vehicle dispatch server 10 selects dispatched candidatevehicles by the dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43(dispatched candidate vehicle selection step). The dispatched candidatevehicle selection unit 43 selects the dispatched candidate vehicle basedon the location of the point of dispatch P and the autonomous drivingvehicle 2. The dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 selects,for example, the autonomous driving vehicle 2 located within a certaindistance from the point of dispatch P as the dispatched candidatevehicle dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43 selects thedispatched candidate vehicle. When the vehicle dispatch request is abaggage receiving request for the user to receive the baggage, S12 andS14 are omitted and the process proceeds to S16.

In S14, the vehicle dispatch server 10 determines whether or not thereis only one the dispatched candidate vehicle by the vehicle dispatchdetermination unit 48 (number of dispatched candidate vehicledetermination step). When it is determined that there is only one thedispatched candidate vehicle (YES in S14), the process proceeds to S16.the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines that thedispatched candidate vehicle is the vehicle being dispatched. If it isnot determined that there is only one the dispatched candidate vehicle(NO in S14), the process proceeds to S18. The vehicle dispatchdetermination process in S18 will be described later.

In S16, the vehicle dispatch server 10 searches for a route for thedispatched candidate vehicle to reach the point of dispatch P by theroute search unit 45 (route search step). The route search unit 45performs a route search based on, for example, the position informationof the point of dispatch P and the dispatched candidate vehicle and themap information of the map database 4. The route search step in S16 maybe performed before the determination in S14.

In S20, the vehicle dispatch server 10 determines whether or not thereis one route by the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 (routedetermination step). When it is determined that there is only one route(YES in S20), the process proceeds to S22. If it is not determined thatthere is only one route (NO in S20), the process proceeds to S24.

In S22, the vehicle dispatch server 10 determines the vehicle dispatchroute by the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 (vehicle dispatchroute determination step). The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 isdetermined as a route determined to be one and a dispatch route. thevehicle dispatch determination unit 48 sends a dispatch instructionincluding a dispatch route to the dispatch vehicle. After that, thevehicle dispatch server 10 ends this process.

In S24, the vehicle dispatch server 10 predicts the required time ofeach route by the required time prediction unit 46 (required timeprediction step). the required time prediction unit 46 may predict therequired time based on the trajectory (route and vehicle speed plan) ofthe autonomous driving for each route.

In S26, the vehicle dispatch server 10 calculates the remote assistancerequest number of each route by the remote assistance request numbercalculation unit 47 (the remote assistance request number calculationstep). The remote assistance request number calculation unit 47calculates the remote assistance request number based at least on theroute and the remote assistance request condition. The order of theprocess in S24 and the process in S26 may be reversed or may beperformed simultaneously. When the remote assistance request number iscalculated earlier, the required time prediction unit 46 may predict therequired time based on the remote assistance request number.

In S28, the vehicle dispatch server 10 determines the dispatch route forthe point of dispatch P by the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48(dispatch route determination step). The vehicle dispatch determinationunit 48 may narrow down to routes whose duration is less the firsttime-threshold and the remote assistance request number is less thefirst request-threshold. the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48determines the route with the smallest the remote assistance requestnumber among the remaining routes as the dispatch route. After that, thevehicle dispatch server 10 ends this process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of vehicle dispatchdetermination process. The vehicle dispatch determination process shownin FIG. 10 corresponds to the process of S18 in FIG. 9 .

As illustrated in FIG. 10 , in S30, the vehicle dispatch server 10searches for a route for all the dispatched candidate vehicle to reachthe point of dispatch P by the route search unit 45 (route search step).the route search unit 45 searches for at least one route for each thedispatched candidate vehicle. The route search step may be performedbefore the determination in S14 in the flowchart of FIG. 9 .

In S32, the vehicle dispatch server 10 predicts the required time ofeach route of all the dispatched candidate vehicles by the required timeprediction unit 46 (required time prediction step). the required timeprediction unit 46 may predict the required time based on the trajectory(route and vehicle speed plan) of the autonomous driving for each route.

In S34, the vehicle dispatch server 10 calculates the remote assistancerequest number of all the routes of the dispatched candidate vehicle bythe remote assistance request number calculation unit 47 (the remoteassistance request number calculation step). the remote assistancerequest number calculation unit 47 calculates the remote assistancerequest number based at least on the route and the remote assistancerequest condition. The order of the processing in S32 and the processingin S34 may be reversed, or may be performed simultaneously.

In S36, the vehicle dispatch server 10 determines the dispatch vehicleand vehicle dispatch route for the point of dispatch P by the vehicledispatch determination unit 48 (dispatch vehicle determination step).The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 may narrow down to only thoseroutes in which the required time is less than the second time-thresholdand the number of remote assistance requests is less than the secondrequest-threshold among all the routes of the dispatched candidatevehicles. The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines theroute with the smallest the remote assistance request number as thedispatch route among the routes remaining after the narrowing down. Thevehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines that the dispatchedcandidate vehicle, which has the dispatch route, is the dispatch vehiclefor the point of dispatch P.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a postponementprocess. The vehicle dispatch server 10 may defer the determination ofthe dispatch route when there is only one the dispatched candidatevehicle and not one route. For example, in S28 of FIG. 9 , thepostponement process is performed.

As illustrated in FIG. 11 , the vehicle dispatch server 10 determineswhether or not the section in which the dispatched candidate vehiclereaches the route branch point is common to all the routes by thevehicle dispatch determination unit 48 in in S40 (postponementdetermination step). The situation in which all the remaining routes maybe common to the road up to the route branch point is the situationshown in FIG. 7 . When it is determined that the section up to the pointat which the dispatched candidate vehicle reaches the route branch pointis common to all the routes (YES in S40), the process proceeds to S42.If it is not determined that the section up to the point at which thedispatched candidate vehicle reaches the route branch point is common toall the routes (NO in S40), the process proceeds to S48.

In S42, the vehicle dispatch server 10 executes a postponement processby the vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 (postponement step). Thevehicle dispatch determination unit 48 defers the decision on thedispatch route.

In S44, the vehicle dispatch server 10 determines whether or not thedispatched candidate vehicle has reached the route branch point by thevehicle dispatch determination unit 48 (route branch point determinationstep). The vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 determines whether ornot the dispatched candidate vehicle has reached the route branch pointbased on the map information and the position information of thedispatched candidate vehicle. When it is not determined that thedispatched candidate vehicle has reached the route branch point (NO inS45), the vehicle dispatch server 10 repeats the determination in S44.If the dispatched candidate vehicle cannot reach the route branch point,the postponement processing is terminated. When it is determined thatthe dispatched candidate vehicle has reached the route branch point (YESin S45), the vehicle dispatch server 10 shifts to S46.

In S46, the vehicle dispatch server 10 predicts the required time ofeach route by the required time prediction unit 46 (the required timeprediction step after the postponement). The required time predictionunit 46 predicts the required time for each route using the latesttraffic information obtained after the start of the postponementprocess. The required time prediction unit 46 may use the trafficinformation transmitted from the dispatched candidate vehicle that hasreached the route branch point to predict the required time for eachroute.

In S48, the vehicle dispatch server 10 determines the dispatch route bythe vehicle dispatch determination unit 48 (dispatch route determinationstep). The processing contents in this case are the same as those in S28of FIG. 9 . The vehicle dispatch server 10 then ends the postponementprocess.

According to the vehicle dispatch system 1 (the vehicle dispatch server10) according to the present embodiment described above, it iscalculated the remote assistance request number which is the number ofthe remote assistance requests by the autonomous driving vehicle to theremote operator for each route to the point of dispatch P, and thevehicle dispatch route to the point of dispatch where the autonomousdriving vehicle travels is determined on the basis of the required timefor each route and the remote assistance request number for each route.Therefore, the load of the remote operator can be reduced compared withwhen the remote assistance request number is not considered.

Further, according to the vehicle dispatch system 1, when there are aplurality of the dispatched candidate vehicles for the point of dispatchP, since the dispatch vehicle to be dispatched to the point of dispatchP is determined based on the required time and the remote assistancerequest number in the route to the point of dispatch P searched for eachthe dispatched candidate vehicle, the load on the remote operator R canbe reduced as compared with the case where the remote assistance requestnumber is not considered.

Further, according to the vehicle dispatch system 1, since thedispatched candidate vehicle delays the decision of the dispatch routeuntil reaching the route branch point when the section to the routebranch point of the dispatched candidate vehicle is common to all theroutes, it is possible to predict the required time on the basis of thelatest information (traffic information, etc.) after the dispatchedcandidate vehicle reaches the route branch point, thereby making itpossible to determine a more appropriate dispatch route.

Further, according to the vehicle dispatch system 1, since the requiredtime until the autonomous driving vehicle 2 arrives at the dispatchpoint is predicted based on the trajectory of the autonomous drivingincluding the route and the vehicle speed plan, it is possible toimprove the prediction accuracy of the required time as compared withthe case where the required time is roughly predicted based on thedistance to the point of dispatch P or the like while the vehicle speedis kept constant.

The embodiment of the present disclosure is described above, but thepresent disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Thepresent disclosure can be implemented in various forms including variousmodifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilledin the art including the above-described embodiment.

Some of the functions of the vehicle dispatch server 10 in the vehicledispatch system 1 may be provided on the dispatched candidate vehicleside. For example, the dispatched candidate vehicle selection unit 43may be implemented at the autonomous driving ECU 20 in the autonomousdriving vehicle 2. When the autonomous driving ECU 20 receives the pointof dispatch P, it may determine whether it corresponds to the dispatchedcandidate vehicle using its own position information.

At least one of the traffic information acquisition units 44, the routesearch unit 45, the required time prediction unit 46, and the remoteassistance request number calculation unit 47 may be realized at theautonomous driving ECU 20 of the autonomous driving vehicle 2. Asdescribed above, by executing at least one of the acquisitions oftraffic information, the route searches up to the point of dispatch P,the prediction of the required time, and the calculation of the remoteassistance request number at each the autonomous driving vehicle 2, thecalculation amount at the vehicle dispatch server 10 can be reduced.

The vehicle dispatch system 1 may not necessarily need to select thedispatched candidate vehicle. the vehicle dispatch system 1 maydetermine the autonomous driving vehicle 2 closest to the point ofdispatch P as the dispatch vehicle. the vehicle dispatch system 1 maydetermine as the dispatch vehicle the autonomous driving vehicle 2 whichis the shortest distance on the road to the point of dispatch P amongthe autonomous driving vehicle 2 which has seen the user's designationand has sufficient residual fuel.

The vehicle dispatch server 10 does not necessarily have the trafficinformation acquisition unit 44. the required time prediction unit 46may predict the required time without referring to traffic information.

The vehicle dispatch server 10 does not necessarily have to be connectedto the remote assistance history database 5. The remote assistancerequest number calculation unit 47 may compute the remote assistancerequest number without referring to the request frequency of the remoteassistance. The remote assistance request number is not necessarily anumber and may be used as a stepwise index.

In the flow chart shown in FIG. 9 , when it is determined that therequired time of the route is equal to or greater the firsttime-threshold as a result of predicting the required time by S24, thecalculation of the remote assistance request number of the route may beomitted. Similarly, when the remote assistance request number iscalculated earlier and it is determined that the remote assistancerequest number is equal to or greater the first request threshold value,the time required for the route need not be predicted.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle dispatch system for dispatching anautonomous driving vehicle capable of traveling with remote assistanceby a remote operator, the vehicle dispatch system comprising: at leastone processor configured to: search a route to a point of dispatch basedon a predetermined point of dispatch, a position of the autonomousdriving vehicle, and map information; determine whether there is aplurality of routes to the point of dispatch based on the predeterminedpoint of dispatch, the position of the autonomous driving vehicle andthe map information; based upon the determination of the plurality ofroutes, determine whether a route section is common to more than one ofthe plurality of routes, wherein the route section extends from acurrent position of the autonomous driving vehicle to a route branchpoint, wherein the route branch point is a point at which the more thanone of the plurality of routes branch apart from each other; when theautonomous driving vehicle reaches the route branch point, predict arequired time until the autonomous driving vehicle arrives at the pointof dispatch by each of the plurality of routes based on the mapinformation; calculate a remote assistance request number on each of theplurality of routes, which is the number of remote assistance requestsof the autonomous driving vehicle to the remote operator for remoteassistance, based on the route and a predetermined remote assistancerequest condition; where the vehicle dispatch instruction includes avehicle dispatch route to the autonomous driving vehicle, and woulddetermine a vehicle dispatch route to the point of dispatch where theautonomous driving vehicle travels, based on the required time predictedfor each of the plurality of routes and the remote assistance requestnumber calculated for each of the plurality of routes.
 2. The vehicledispatch system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: select dispatched candidate vehicles for the point ofdispatch from a plurality of the autonomous driving vehicles based onthe point of dispatch and the positions of the autonomous drivingvehicles, wherein a dispatch vehicle to be dispatched to the point ofdispatch and a dispatch vehicle route of the dispatch vehicle isdetermined based on the required time and the remote assistance requestnumber in the routes to the point of dispatch searched for each of thedispatched candidate vehicles when there is a plurality of thedispatched candidate vehicles selected by the dispatched candidatevehicle selection unit.
 3. The vehicle dispatch system according toclaim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: acquire atrajectory of autonomous driving including a path on the route and avehicle speed plan, and predict a required time until the autonomousdriving vehicle arrives at the point of dispatch based on thetrajectory, wherein the path and the vehicle speed plan are generated inaccordance with the point of dispatch, the route, the map information,the external environment of the autonomous driving vehicle, and thetraveling state of the autonomous driving vehicle.
 4. The vehicledispatch system according to claim 2, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: acquire a trajectory of autonomous driving including apath on the route and a vehicle speed plan, and predict a required timeuntil the autonomous driving vehicle arrives at the point of dispatchbased on the trajectory, wherein the path and the vehicle speed plan aregenerated in accordance with the point of dispatch, the route, the mapinformation, the external environment of the autonomous driving vehicle,and the traveling state of the autonomous driving vehicle.
 5. A vehicledispatching server for dispatching an autonomous driving vehicle capableof traveling with remote assistance by a remote operator, the vehicledispatching server comprising: at least one processor configured to:search a route to a point of dispatch based on a predetermined point ofdispatch, a position of the autonomous driving vehicle, and mapinformation; determine whether there is a plurality of routes to thepoint of dispatch based on the predetermined point of dispatch, theposition of the autonomous driving vehicle and the map information;based upon the determination of the plurality of routes, determinewhether a route section is common to more than one of the plurality ofroutes, wherein the route section extends from a current position of theautonomous driving vehicle to a route branch point, wherein the routebranch point is a point at which the more than one of the plurality ofroutes branch apart from each other; when the autonomous driving vehiclereaches the route branch point, predict a required time until theautonomous driving vehicle arrives at the point of dispatch by each ofthe plurality of routes based on the map information; calculate a remoteassistance request number on each of the plurality of routes, which isthe number of remote assistance requests of the autonomous drivingvehicle to the remote operator for remote assistance, based on the routeand a predetermined remote assistance request condition; where thevehicle dispatch instruction includes a vehicle dispatch route to theautonomous driving vehicle, and would determine a vehicle dispatch routeto the point of dispatch where the autonomous driving vehicle travels,based on the required time predicted for each of the plurality of routesand the remote assistance request number calculated for each of theplurality of routes.
 6. A vehicle dispatch method of a vehicle dispatchsystem for dispatching an autonomous driving vehicle capable oftraveling with remote assistance by a remote operator, the methodcomprising: searching a route to a point of dispatch based on apredetermined point of dispatch, the position of the autonomous drivingvehicle, and map information; determining whether there is a pluralityof routes to the point of dispatch based on the predetermined point ofdispatch, the position of the autonomous driving vehicle and the mapinformation; based upon the determination of the plurality of routes,determining whether a route section is common to more than one of theplurality of routes, wherein the route section extends from a currentposition of the autonomous driving vehicle to a route branch point,wherein the route branch point is a point at which the more than one ofthe plurality of routes branch apart from each other; when theautonomous driving vehicle reaches the route branch point, predicting arequired time until the autonomous driving vehicle arrives at the pointof dispatch by each of the plurality of routes based on the mapinformation; calculating a remote assistance request number on each ofthe plurality of routes, which is the number of remote assistancerequests of the autonomous driving vehicle to the remote operator forremote assistance, based on the route and a predetermined remoteassistance request condition; where the vehicle dispatch instructionincludes a vehicle dispatch route to the autonomous driving vehicle, andwould determining a vehicle dispatch route to the point of dispatchwhere the autonomous driving vehicle travels, based on the required timepredicted for each of the plurality of routes and the remote assistancerequest number calculated for each of the plurality of routes.